5 Northeast La. area players PRZLA hopes to catch as spring opens

Jerit Roser April 27, 2023 @ 09:35 PM

The LHSAA's official window for spring football opened Monday with a few schools around the state already taking the field and the vast majority kicking off their sessions in the next two weeks.   Prep Redzone Louisiana has already started making some rounds, but won't be able to catch everyone.   We'll start over the next few days by pointing out and highlighting five players from each area we'd like to see — with priority given to rising upperclassmen and for prospects we'd be seeing for the first time, the first time in an extended stretch or the first time since some notable development.   And a series will begin next week highlighting six or more student-athletes from each school visited with a mix of returning veterans, breakout candidates and underclassmen to know for years to come.     [player_tooltip player_id='740982' first='Chris' last='Addison'] — 6-2, 210 ATH — Franklin Parish (2026)   The northeast Louisiana list will be the youngest of this series with a couple rising sophomores and a couple rising juniors. Addison's older teammates [player_tooltip player_id='681280' first='Javion' last='White'] and Marshawn Whitley have done a nice job this spring generating buzz not only for their own recruitments, but for the Patriots' program with another multisport standout in Addison among the next names to watch coming up behind them.   [player_tooltip player_id='710076' first='Joshua' last='Brantley'] — 6-4, 205 QB — Ruston (2025)   The Bearcats' rising junior is among the most intriguing players to watch this year anywhere in the state from both high school competition and college recruiting standpoints. Brantley takes the reins of the offense for a team that reached the state championship game in December and brings with him big frame, arm and athleticism that have some major programs monitoring closely as he takes on the starter role and accumulates more experience and film.   [player_tooltip player_id='283985' first='Montrell' last='Conner Jr.'] — 5-10, 150 ATH — St. Frederick (2026)   Another freshman and a young prospect whose elite track résumé and high praise from coaches suggest Conner will be one of the top names to hear and know in his class at a statewide, and potentially national, level in the coming years. He and an underrated, but talented Warriors squad are a notably high priority stop for Prep Redzone Louisiana for a Class 1A school.   [player_tooltip player_id='285624' first='Carldell' last='Sirmons'] — 5-7, 170 ATH — Carroll (2024)   The speedy, versatile running back has been among the most dynamic weapons in northeast Louisiana the past couple seasons and now transfers from Ouachita Parish seven miles down the road to Carroll. Sirmons was likely among the more intriguing stops for Prep Redzone Louisiana to make, regardless, but now adds the storyline of checking into how he's adjusting to a new team and new offense for his final year of high school.   [player_tooltip player_id='710074' first='Brody' last='Whatley'] — 6-5, 250 DL — Neville (2025)   The big defensive end looks and sounds from early film, size and coach reviews to be the next big-time trenches prospect from a Neville program with a long tradition of developing SEC linemen on both sides of the ball. He's currently the area's highest ranked prospect in his respective class and in the mix among the top few prospects in northeast Louisiana to watch regardless of class.

The LHSAA's official window for spring football opened Monday with a few schools around the state already taking the field and the vast majority kicking off their sessions in the next two weeks.